The present application describes systems and techniques relating to monitoring cardiac activity, for example, processing cardiac electrical activity to determine heart rate.
The electrical activity of the heart can be monitored to track various aspects of the functioning of the heart. Given the volume conductivity of the body, electrodes on the body surface or beneath the skin can display potential differences related to this activity. Anomalous electrical activity can be indicative of disease states or other physiological conditions ranging from benign to fatal.
Cardiac monitoring devices can sense the cardiac electrical activity of a living being and identify heart beats. Frequently, identification of heart beats is performed by identifying the R waves in the QRS complex, as can be seen in an electrocardiogram (ECG). The R wave is the first positive deflection in the QRS complex, representing ventricular depolarization. The typically large amplitude of this positive deflection in the QRS complex is useful in identifying a heart beat.